Gary Faulkner of Memphis, Tenn., and Natalie Jimenez of Rowland Heights, Calif., won national titles Friday, claiming the top spots at the 2011 USBC Junior Gold Championships presented by Brunswick. Both players rolled to their respective victories at Sunset Station's Strike Zone with little drama down the stretch. They came out on top against 1,648 USBC Youth bowlers who started the week. Faulkner finished with a 46-game total of 10,241 (9-7 match play record) and Jimenez had a score of 9,819 (11-4-1).
The North Pointe Junior Gold Championships has experienced tremendous growth, especially with the addition of the U15 division, and the expected progression has resulted in several changes for the 2013 event in Detroit. More than 1,900 youth bowlers took part in the 2012 event, establishing a record for number of participants, and the 2013 tournament is expected to eclipse that mark. To handle the larger field, three additional centers in the Detroit area will be utilized.
Four bowlers earned national youth titles Friday at the 2012 North Pointe Junior Gold Championships. AJ Johnson of Oswego, Ill., Robyn Renslow of Brentwood, Calif., Bradley Crouse, Nazareth, Pa., and Breanna Clemmer, Clover, S.C., all came away with championships in their respective divisions at Woodland Bowl. A record total of 1,929 athletes took part in the event competing for more than $250,000 in scholarships.
Four bowlers earned automatic spots on Junior Team USA as qualifying wrapped up Thursday at the 2012 North Pointe Junior Gold Championships presented by Brunswick. Michael Coffey of Melbourne, Fla., Matthew Farber of Plainview, N.Y., Natalie Goodman of O'Fallon, Ill., and Danielle McEwan of Stony Point, N.Y., all earned automatic spots on Junior Team USA in 2013 by virtue of their 25-game totals in the 20-and-under division to end qualifying at Woodland Bowl.
After back-to-back years of strong performances at the North Pointe Junior Gold Championships presented by Brunswick, Thea Aspiras (pictured) of Chesapeake, Va., is once again lingering near the top of the leaderboard. The Norfolk State junior finished 37th last year in Las Vegas and sixth two years ago in Indianapolis. After 15 games of qualifying, she sits in 14th place in the 20-and-under division with 2,897 (193.13 average) and is again in position for a big finish. Live streaming of the event starts Thursday at 8 a.m. Eastern. 
With three lane patterns at three bowling centers over three days, the North Pointe Junior Gold Championships presented by Brunswick tests the versatility of the players competing in the event. Competing on a long, medium and short pattern, the players are challenged by the USBC Sport Bowling conditions. And for the 20-and-under boys who wrapped up competition on the short pattern Tuesday morning, they were put to the test like never before.
For the first time in the 15-year history of the event, the North Pointe Junior Gold Championships are broken into divisions by age. But that didn't stop nine brave bowlers in the younger division from challenging their older counterparts. Six boys and three girls eligible for the 15-and-under division opted to compete in the 20-and-under division, which began with the opening round of qualifying Monday. Live Streaming starts Thursday at 8 a.m. Eastern.
The Detroit area will play host to bowling's biggest youth tournaments in 2013, the North Pointe Junior Gold Championships and the USBC Youth Open Championships. The North Pointe Junior Gold Championships will take place at Sunnybrook Lanes and Sterling Lanes, both in Sterling Heights, Mich., and AMF Rose Bowl in Roseville, Mich., from July 13-19, 2013. Sterling Lanes will be the site for the USBC Youth Open Championships, scheduled for July 11-28, 2013.
The week started with 1,648 of the top youth bowlers in the country and now the field has been trimmed to the top 16 boys and top 16 girls for Friday's finals at the 2011 United States Bowling Congress Junior Gold Championships presented by Brunswick. With 16 games remaining, Gary Faulkner (l.) of Memphis, Tenn., took a commanding lead in the boys division, while Holly Harris (r.) of Long Prairie, Minn., holds a slim lead in the girls division at Sunset Station's Strike Zone Bowling Center.
With qualifying wrapping up Wednesday at the 2011 USBC Junior Gold Championships presented by Brunswick, the pressure was on for players to make the first cut into the semifinals. One of the players outside of the cut number coming into the day was Team USA and Junior Team USA member Scott Boyle (pictured) of Salida, Calif. Boyle entered the final round of qualifying in 181st place. The top 144 (plus ties) make the cut in the boys division, while the top 72 (plus ties) advance for the girls.
Zack Hattori (pictured) of Las Vegas proved he was one of the top youth bowlers in the country last year by finishing ninth at the USBC Junior Gold Championships. This year, he brings that confidence along with the fact the event is in his hometown. The 18-year-old recent graduate of Silverado High School has taken full advantage of the event being in his stomping grounds. He is among 1,648 USBC Youth bowlers competing in the Las Vegas area this week.
Last year, Marshall Kent (pictured left) of Yakima, Wash., entered the USBC Junior Gold Championships having never made the first cut. This year, he enters not only as the defending champion but as one of the most well-known youth bowlers in the country. Kent will once again have a large field standing in his way this year, as more than 1,700 USBC Youth bowlers from across the country are expected to descend upon three of the Las Vegas area's biggest bowling centers.
The United States Bowling Congress has seen a steady growth in the number of bowlers at the high school and collegiate level during the past few seasons, and the participation in another youth program has reached an all-time high. The USBC Junior Gold program recently set a record for most memberships sold in a season. At the end of April, Junior Gold membership stood at 3,407 and more youth bowlers are expected to join before the membership year ends July 31.
